Reflective Piece †“Why?” Essay

Cast away in the distances, abandoned some may call it searching for a better life, others may utter. Trying to find a better way, Parents may justify. Truly, did you think it would make it any better? Financially†¦ the world you seek to provide an answer? Where’s your justification? Does money make the world go round or does a household make it? You see the fine line drawn, A child thrown into the dark to search for the dim light. On the brink, some may survive Fallen, some never saw the light again, But for both their days were always dark. What does a man left in the wild to be raised by animals become? Nothing– physically, an animal mentally. Who can love a child more than a parent can? Anyone . . . but what’s its value? Just naught for the heart will forever be digging for The original source of love. For the mother, from the father, And when abandoned, the heart will still dig, Digging on a hardened floor, Searching for the light, searching for love, Searching for care and attention, In the wrong place, in the cold ground, Where the humanity sheds, and a lustful soul craves destruction. Depression creates a shell, Suicidal tendencies take the roles of demons And seduces like a brightly coloured snake. Ropes become an attraction, Death becomes a consistent thought Violence becomes a an expression of goodwill, Goodwill that is not even there, How can the unwanted love? How can the empty live unless he has a strong heart And once again, who’s there to love And what do you love with but the heart? Language Analysis The reflective piece, ‘Why?’ is a poem written from a teenagers point of view and it serves to inform the reader of how a teen may feel when their parents have migrated leaving them in the care of somebody else who is incapable of caring for them. Language registers and dialectal variation can be seen throughout the passage and they will be analysed. Language registers refers to the perceived attitude and level of formality associated with a variety of language. A formal register is seen in the piece and this is due to the fact that the writer is talking to a mature audience. This formal tone is appropriate as the subject matter being discussed is one of a serious nature. The stage from childhood to adulthood, that is, teenage years is of paramount importance as this defines what type of person they will become when they are adults. This could be the difference between becoming a juvenile delinquent and a model student. An example of this can be seen in lines 30 – 35. Where the persona speaks of being depressed to the point where hanging one’s self would be the only right thing to do Dialectal variation refers to the spoken and written differences within a speech community. Throughout this reflective piece Standard English is used. The writer may have chosen to use Standard English due to the fact that it they are addressing a mature audience to whom the message is being delivered and in most instances are not au fait with the trending teenage slang. On the other hand the fact that the persona is addressing a mature audience using a formal tone may lead to them using  Standard English. This is so as when addressing persons older than them, teenagers usually speak English. An example of a situation like this could be the classroom setting and the target audience of the poem are persons in authority and parents. Another reason could be due to the fact that the persona sees English as being superior to Patois and as such does not use it.